TWU grad trades wetsuit for business suit

He may be trading suits, but TWU’s new Director of Alumni is still expected to make a splash. As of January 2003, Paul Perschon will be leaving the lake and his role as Program Director of Green Bay Bible Camp to return to his roots—Trinity Western University. This time however, instead of returning as a business student Perschon has been appointed Executive Director of the Alumni Association.

And this is good news for the near 2,000 TWU alums who reside in Langley, and for the 16,000 alumni worldwide. “I want to see our Department partnering more closely with our alums—I think we have a lot to offer each other,” says Perschon, inspired by the challenge to develop a more vibrant and growing alumni community.

“Our alumni are serving in the Lower Mainland and around the world as teachers, nurses, doctors and business people,” he says. “We want our alumni department to be a useful resource, supporting them as they contribute positively in their communities.”

This new role is a big step for Perschon, who graduated in 1996, but his past experiences have proved he is a savvy business man and youthful visionary with the ingredients for success.

Before Perschon’s arrival at Green Bay, the camp’s waterfront program was fairly small. Yet shortly after Perschon became the Director, the waterfront program began to thrive and became one of the largest ski and wakeboard program in Western Canada.

“This is in part due to the amazing support we’ve received from our corporate sponsors,” says Perschon, who has spent a great deal of time developing relationships with companies such as Pepsi, Mastercraft, Dragon Optical, Hyperlight Wakeboards, Bare Wetsuits and Big White.

When he became Program and Marketing Director at the camp, Perschon’s golden touch continued. He developed programs that dramatically increased clientele and reduced operating costs through camp sponsorship and continued program partnering. Currently most camps fill up to capacity almost as soon as registration is available.

Though Perschon’s competence in business has resulted in significant success, he is quick to pass along the praise. “I believe the success of the organization has been having a good team,” he says. “There are many gifted people in the right roles whose skills complement each other well.”

Perschon’s successful marketing skills should come as no surprise—he was developing them while attending TWU. While Student Associate Vice President, Perschon was the visionary for producing TWU’s first chapel CD. It might surprise those who have never attended TWU, but the one-hour, non-compulsory chapel is popular among Trinity Western students. Each Friday, as many as 1,000 TWU students can be found at the “singing chapel” where various contemporary bands, comprised of students, lead the group in singing.

While still a student, Perschon was attending one such chapel when he noticed a curious fourth year student with a tape recorder.

“The student explained he was trying to capture the chapel experience,” recalls Perschon. This student’s interest gave Perschon the idea of putting the music on CD. After numerous presentations to administrators and various collaborative work projects, the first TWU chapel CD was born.

“It was a huge success. It’s awesome to see how turned out.” says Perschon. “I still remember how much we had to market and push for pre-sales. That was one of the conditions the administration put on us—500 pre-sales, I believe.”

If Perschon’s future involvement at TWU is anything like the past, he will no doubt build a strong community of TWU alums and exceed all expectations of others and himself—he probably won’t stay far from the lakes either.

Trinity Western University, located in Langley, B.C., is a not-for-profit Christian liberal arts university enrolling over 3,200 students this year. With a broad based, liberal arts and sciences curriculum, the University offers undergraduate degrees in 38 major areas of study ranging from business, education and computer science to biology and nursing, and 12 other graduate degrees including counseling psychology, theology and administrative leadership.